[C] Ep. 6 & 7: Who’s behind the wheel?

So Kimimaro has to fight this… thing at the end of the sixth episode. Looks kinda like an RPG end boss — maybe Seymour from Final Fantasy X even.

It’s really whupping Msyu’s ass though; she’s bleeding black blood and howling in pain. Considering how [C] has handled similar fight scenes in the past, however, there isn’t really any tension. There’s no feeling of threat because, as you’ll recall, fights in this anime turn for inexplicable reasons. The first time Kimimaro set foot in the Financial District, he was also getting beaten pretty badly, but out of nowhere, he executed a “mezzoflation” or whatever it’s called and simply wins. No explanation required.

Why should it be any different this time? I know he won’t lose, but even worse, I know he won’t even work hard for his victory. The win will just happen and unfortunately, this really takes the sails out of the anime. With all that said, the way the conflict resolves itself in this episode half-asses (three-quarter-asses?) it even more.

Kimimaro has time for some obligatory monologue about how he doesn’t want to lose the people near him. In the meantime, generic chanting fills the background so OMG this is a heavy moment. I tease, but this is good actually. This is an emotional moment in the narrative and anime in general needs more emotional moments, even if the setup is trite as all hell. Plus, this means we’re going to get something satisfying and cathartic at the end of the battle, right? Kimimaro grips Msyu’s hand and goes SSJ. Electricity is coursing through his body and the screen fades to white. Here, it com-

…wait, what? No, I didn’t imagine that. See for yourself:

Error

This video doesn’t exist

What the fuck just happened? Why are we on a baseball field talking to Kimimaro’s opponent?

Are you kidding me? The battle is over? Yes, yes it is; the anime just flat out tells (SHOW, NOT TELL) us “Well, duh, it was another ‘mezoflation’ (sp).” Jesus Christ, who storyboard’d this episode and decided that this was the proper fucking way to end an episode.

Maybe if we didn’t spend the budget on big-bosom financial lady taking a shower and attacking Kimimaro with “Greatrelish” hamburgers, we could have finished the fight scene — I dunno, just a thought.

Actually, maybe this is a new avant garde style of anime where we deliberately leave out the climax. Let’s see the same effect in other anime…

Error

This video doesn’t exist

That makes the anime so much better!

So in the next episode, there’s a pause in the action, which is pretty laughable considering what just happened, and we are treated to two short stories. The first story deals with Mikuni’s past and why he has such a “fuck you; got mine” attitude.

It’s always an imouto. Always. Standard anime fare so I won’t say much about it except for one thing. It seems that the assets represent their respective owners’ lost futures, if that makes any sense. Mikuni lost his sister, so he gets to tote around a little girl. Y’know, Q is monotone and depressed looking anyway, so I don’t think Mikuni missed out on much of a future.

Continuing on this line of thought, if your asset is your lost future, then Msyu likely represents the college girl Kimimaro likes in real life.

Aw c’mon Ash, you can’t do that to Pikachu.

Msyu’s narrates the second half of the episode, but it’s still all about the hero. If you thought you could gain any perspective or deeper insight of her as a character… nope. If the episode is to be believed, and nothing in the entire anime has betrayed this idea thus far, Msyu’s entire existence revolves around Kimimaro, which is kind of sad.

At one point, she recalls the battle from the previous episode, and her take on the events are no better. Again, Kimimaro goes SSJ and then,

…we just won! Ugh, just terrible. Just how impotent is Kimimaro, honestly? Well, near the end of the episode, Msyu asks him what a kiss feels like. Although he’s 19, Kimimaro confesses that he’s never had one:

Kimimaro rejects Msyu’s kiss anyway, claiming that beep beep bloop love is a discrete function and her feelings need to be thirty times stronger.

Since it’s her deredere time of the month, Msyu accepts the challenge. On the other hand, I’m a little deader inside.

Related

15 Replies to “[C] Ep. 6 & 7: Who’s behind the wheel?”

What… (sigh) what is this? So Mysu’s fine after episode six. You know it’s hard to see how this show takes itself seriously. The so called romance in C is Dull… The guys abilitity is just plot based. and Mysu… romance weapon # 10 in my book, yawn. At least Nichijou is full of humor and knows it’s location. Seems that anime these days have great ideas. but they cram them into the same locale. Its the same with Dragon Crisis. Research locations for your charaters’ stories so they really interact with their surroundings.

If I had to make a midseason assessment, I’d peg the anime around a D at the moment. Interesting setup but subpar animation, cardboard characters and an absolute inability to animate a single action scene that isn’t a mess. The anime seems very amateurish. Anyone can dream up an outlandish plot and anime does it all the time. It’s the execution that just falls woefully short.

Well you do have a point there. I shouldn’t really judge since this is the field of work I want to enter. I guess I don’t know what the protagonist wants really. Is he fighting to prove a point about his life? I guess this anime is the deep thinking kind. I’m more of a funny first, serious second kind anime watcher.

I might be the one of the few who probably reads way to much into [C] because I love Kenji Nakamura. But I feel that the romance angle between Kimimaro and Mysu may be a mockery of people who fall in love with the concept of the future rather than actually pursuing it. In this case, of course he falls for Mysu because he can’t find himself going for Hanabi. I think the idea is that people simply want things in front of them rather than actually working towards them. Sure he didn’t have the guts to kiss Mysu, but just having that kind companionship that he only wishes to attain with Hanabi seems enough to keep him happy. Of course, That’s just unfounded speculation though.

The unfortunate thing about [C] is that it doesn’t have the resources it needs to achieve it’s ambitious goals. If this were longer and if the studio weren’t affected by the earthquake then we’d probably be seeing something different. But it’s okay the way it is for me, it’s no Mononoke or even Trapeze though. :(

That’s an interesting take, but there are two stumbling blocks in my mind:

1) I don’t really feel as though he should be pursuing Hanabi. She has a boyfriend, doesn’t she? You could work your way towards her feelings, but that’s pretty scummy. Unless her boyfriend is beating her or something, that is.

2) The anime doesn’t have a very mocking tone. I may just be wrong, but the second half of episode seven feels kinda earnest and sympathetic, as if it’s cute that Msyu’s feelings for Kimimaro are blossoming. It’s also very common in any story — whether it is anime, movies, novels — for young men stuck in a rut (Kimimaro doesn’t have any ambitions; just wants to get by with a “normal” life) to be introduced to an exotic femme — a pixie-like girl — (Msyu even looks like a pixie) and gain a new perspective on what he wants in life. If the creators are mocking this concept, they’re doing a good job copying it.

On the other hand, I think it was Zizek who said true subversion is not ironic detachment but taking the idea more seriously than it takes itself. So maybe you’re right. But I still don’t enjoy the anime. ;v

As for Kimimaro pursing Hanabi, I think it’s ironic he expected her to be a part of his future in that way despite her having a boyfriend. I mean, he may not have been saying it directly but it seemed like he thought he’d have a chance with her if he had more money. I guess what I’m trying to say is that, he wanted to try and win her anyway but his interest in her lessened when he met Mysu. Falling for the anthropomorphic representation of your future seems silly enough, but it does sound like a good analogy.

I suppose ‘mocking’ is a harsh word for it. But it does give off the feeling that the romance is a set-up for something else. But I’m not sure yet, that is– until the series ends I suppose. I just recently read translations of the character monologues, episode commentaries and the contents of the QR codes found in the ED (they change every episode) and the show is actually very well thought out, so I’m kind of wondering what they’re trying to do. Admittedly, I tend to over analyze things lol.

Well, I’m not sure Kimimaro expected Hanabi as part of his future. I don’t think he has yet to connect the dots with regards to his asset and Hanabi. I didn’t even get the impression that he was trying all that hard to win Hanabi.

and the show is actually very well thought out

I wouldn’t sit here and deny that the show is elaborate. I just think the execution is terrible and I’m surprised too, since everyone seems to have acclaim for the director.

When he lost against one of the Entres with a small margin, he immediately checked up on his aunt and Hanabi. The funny thing is that he was frustrated that he expected something to happen to her lol. He doesn’t really try that hard (the only episode I remember him actually kind of trying was in episode 1) but still expects he’ll be compensated in some way.

The director and scriptwriter have been involved with some very remarkable projects. I’d recommend Kenji Nakamura’s segment Bake Neko in Ayakashi to anyone. They’re episode’s 9,10 and 11. It’s one of the greatest things I’ve seen done to the medium, each screenshot is like a piece of art. The 3 episode arc was good enough to get a spin off and my god the spin-off was just as excellent. It’s truly one of the best shows I’ve seen, from visuals to storytelling. And while I wasn’t expecting [C] to be on a similar level…knowing that makes you have high expectations. It doesn’t help that the script writer was involved in Baccano! and Koi Kaze. Those were really good too.

You’re right about Ayakashi, especially the “Bake Neko” arc. The director definitely has the chops to execute [C] then. Are there any interviews about [C] out there that might shed light on its production? I don’t tend to follow Japanese publications, unfortunately.

I don’t think there’s ever been any article translations for [C] but there are some translations of one of [C]’s staff members for each episode. I think he works in the field of economics but I’m not 100% sure. You can read them here.

1) I complained that [C] deliberately leaves out the climax and this is bad.
2) I edited the most important scene in the first season of Haruhi to remove the climax (the kiss) to re-emphasize point 1.
3) You think I’m criticizing Haruhi because you have blinders on.